Will this time be different? The potential of MOOCs to deliver a college education to anyone—anywhere—sounds very similar to what was said about correspondence courses in the 1920s. (NPR)

“(College) credit is currently not as it should be; it’s almost a game.” A college graduate explains how he got an associate’s degree without ever stepping foot on campus. (Say Something/The Chronicle oContinue Reading »

A total of 14 athletics programs in the FBS reported positive net revenues for the 2009 fiscal year, which represents a decrease from the 25 reported in 2008. The gap between the “profitable” programs and the remainder continued to grow, however a bit more slowly.

The median institution lost $10 million on its sports programs in 2009, and the aContinue Reading »

We all know the drill by now: Faced with a major financial shortfall, the university announces that it has no choice but to sharply raise student tuition once again. “We remain committed to providing an affordable education for all,” says the university president, in somber tones. “But we will not degrade the high academic standards that make this institution great. We continuContinue Reading »

Buzz Bissinger, he of Friday Night Lights fame, turns in a very worthwhile read on college football and Nick Saban, head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bissinger thinks our priorities are a little askew when a football coach earns $3.75 million in base salary, 25 hours of non-commercial airline flights, a free country club membership, two cars for use by his family, and incentive bonuses fContinue Reading »

Per last week’s ongoing discussion of higher education, one thing nobody seems to dispute is the assertion by “Professor X” that classes like his are “a substantial profit center” for most colleges. The math isn’t hard; adjunct professors typically only get paid a few thousand dollars to teach a course that each student pays a few thousand dollars to take. EvContinue Reading »

My alma mater‘s loss to Georgetown Friday was pretty heartbreaking, but I’m pleased to note, via Kevin, that we smoke them in the grad rate department. When I was a young Commodore in the late 1990s and frequently watched our football and basketball teams getting trounced by the rest of the SEC (note: nothing sucks like a Big Orange), at least we knew our graduation rates dominated Continue Reading »

Selena Roberts’ column($) about big-time college football in the NYTimes yesterday echoes a piece George Will wrote last week, each relying heavily on a recent letter from Rep. Bill Thomas, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to the president of the NCAA. Thomas wants to know why, exactly, it’s okay for tax-exempt colleges and universities to be running massive, for-profContinue Reading »